Summary

His feet go STOMP! His jaws go CRUNCH! In the blink of an eye you'll be his LUNCH!

Four young dinosaurs are warned about the scary Gigantosaurus, so one of them volunteers to keep watch for the others while they play. But Bonehead, the lookout, quickly gets bored, and he can't resist shouting, "GIGANTOSAURUS!" just to see what the others do. When his friends finally wise up, Bonehead is in for a rather snappy (and crunchy) surprise!

Author Notes

Jonny Duddle was a concept artist for Aardman Animations' feature film The Pirates! Band of Misfits, starring Hugh Grant. He has also written three other popular picture books, The King of Space, The Pirate Cruncher, and the bestseller The Pirates Next Door, which won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2012. He lives in Wales with his wife and their two little girls.

Publisher's Weekly Review

The lessons of Aesop's fables are just as applicable in the Cretaceous as they are today, as Duddle (The King of Space) demonstrates in a witty cautionary tale that boils down to "The Ankylosaurus Who Cried Wolf." Four tiny dinos have had it drummed into their boney, horned heads to beware the fiercest predator of them all, Gigantosaurus (an author's note explains that while this creature is fictional, the similarly named giganotosaurus was real). "His feet go STOMP!/ His jaws go CRUNCH!/ In the blink of an eye,/ you'd be his LUNCH!" warn the dinosaurs' mothers. Bonehead, a tiny ankylosaurus, offers to serve as a lookout as his friends play amid towering ferns, termite mounds, and sun-bleached skeletons. But after he tricks his friends one too many times into thinking that Gigantosaurus is descending upon them, they abandon him just as the danger gets real. Duddle's digital illustrations create a rich prehistoric world with an almost sculptural depth, and his bug-eyed dinosaurs exude personality. Bouncy rhymes and a narrative propelled by alternating moments of terror and relief make for a lively, mischievous read. Ages 3-7. Agent: Arena Illustration. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-The "boy who cried wolf" theme will be familiar, only here it's a little dinosaur who cries, "Gigantosaurus." The first time he gives the alarm, it turns out to just be a triceratops; then it's just diplodocous. Each time, Bonehead, a young ankylosaurus, laughs when his friends run and hide, but when he issues his fourth warning, they don't believe him. Of course, the threat is real this time, and Bonehead almost becomes Gigantosaurus's lunch. Most kids will enjoy this raucous rhyming story. The full-bleed, earth-tone digital cartoons are appropriately exaggerated and fraught with tension without being frightening. A note at the end introduces the real and made-up creatures that appear in the story. Fans of dinosaurs and those who love action will enjoy this prehistoric romp.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.